
Belongs within: Eutheria.
The Asioryctitheria are a group of small, probably insectivorous mammals known from the Late Cretaceous of Asia. Monophyly of this group is uncertain: Wible et al.‘s (2007) phylogenetic analysis found them to be paraphyletic to modern placentals whereas Halliday et al. (2017) found a clade uniting Asioryctitheria with the contemporary Zalambdalestidae.
<==AsioryctitheriaWR07 |--+--+--Bulaklestes kezbeHUG17, WR07 | | `--Uchkudukodon nessoviHUG17, OB13 | `--Daulestes Trofimov & Nessov in Nessov & Trofimov 1979HUG17, FN03 | |--D. inobservabilisWR07 | |--D. kulbeckensisWR07 | `--D. nessoviAAE01 `--+--+--Kennalestes Kielan-Jaworowska 1969HUG17, FN03 | | `--K. gobiensisWR07 | `--+--Ukhaatherium Novacek 1997HUG17, D07 | | `--U. nessoviOB13 | `--Asioryctes Kielan-Jaworowska 1975HUG17, FN03 | `--A. nemegtensisWR07 `--ZalambdalestidaeWR07 | i. s.: Praolestes Matthew, Granger & Simpson 1929SM71, V67 | `--*P. nanus Matthew, Granger & Simpson 1929SM71 |--KulbeckiaHUG17 | |--K. kansaicaHUG17 | `--K. kulbeckeWR07 `--+--Lainodon orueetxebarriaiHUG17, WR07 |--Zhangolestes jilinensisHUG17 |--Barunlestes Kielan-Jaworowska 1975HUG17, SM93 | `--B. butleriWR07 `--+--Alymlestes kielanaeHUG17 `--Zalambdalestes Gregory & Simpson 1926HUG17, D07 |--Z. grangeriHUG17 `--Z. lechei Gregory & Simpson 1926SM71
*Type species of generic name indicated
References
[AAE01] Archibald, J. D., A. O. Averianov & E. G. Ekdale. 2001. Late Cretaceous relatives of rabbits, rodents, and other extant eutherian mammals. Nature 414: 62–65.
[D07] Dixon, D. 2007. The Complete Illustrated Encyclopedia of Dinosaurs & Prehistoric Creatures. Hermes House: London.
[FN03] Fox, R. C., & B. G. Naylor. 2003. A Late Cretaceous taeniodont (Eutheria, Mammalia) from Alberta, Canada. Neues Jahrbuch für Geologie und Paläontologie—Abhandlungen 229 (3): 393–420.
[HUG17] Halliday, T. J. D., P. Upchurch & A. Goswami. 2017. Resolving the relationships of Paleocene placental mammals. Biological Reviews 92 (1): 521–550.
[OB13] O’Leary, M. A., J. I. Bloch, J. J. Flynn, T. J. Gaudin, A. Giallombardo, N. P. Giannini, S. L. Goldberg, B. P. Kraatz, Z.-X. Luo, J. Meng, X. Ni, M. J. Novacek, F. A. Perini, Z. S. Randall, G. W. Rougier, E. J. Sargis, M. T. Silcox, N. B. Simmons, M. Spaulding, P. M. Velazco, M. Weksler, J. R. Wible & A. L. Cirranello. 2013. The placental mammal ancestor and the post-K-Pg radiation of placentals. Science 339: 662–667.
[SM93] Stucky, R. K., & M. C. McKenna. 1993. Mammalia. In: Benton, M. J. (ed.) The Fossil Record 2 pp. 739–771. Chapman & Hall: London.
[SM71] Szalay, F. S., & M. C. McKenna. 1971. Beginning of the age of mammals in Asia: the late Paleocene Gashato fauna, Mongolia. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 144 (4): 269–318.
[V67] Van Valen, L. 1967. New Paleocene insectivores and insectivore classification. Bulletin of the American Museum of Natural History 135 (5): 217–284.
[WR07] Wible, J. R., G. W. Rougier, M. J. Novacek & R. J. Asher. 2007. Cretaceous eutherians and Laurasian origin for placental mammals near the K/T boundary. Nature 447: 1003–1006.